Chapter: 16
The wave I had “held” in my hands became a sharp spear, piercing through the monsters’ bodies.
It was a force so powerful that even I was momentarily shocked.
If this was my strength, I couldn’t even imagine how much power the other Aloges possessed—it was frightening.
Using my power properly made it clear.
If a head of the house possessed a water ability far stronger than this, they wouldn’t be a person—they’d be a disaster.
Moreover, if Piero appeared in Pentes Aloge, Croa’s older brother and the next head of the Aloge family according to the original story…
“……?”
Wait, did Piero appear to Pentes Aloge?
After all, once Croa Aloge died, Pentes was the only direct descendant of the Aloge family, so he could have had Piero—
Wait.
Then what happens if Croa Aloge is still alive when the Aloge blood chooses the next head?
Even if it were the Croa from the original story, with my current ability, there’s no reason I wouldn’t be chosen as the next head, right?
That thought made my eyes widen.
―Kraaaah!
Instinctively, I unleashed water at the monsters charging at me.
Sharp water sprouted from the ground like spikes, piercing through the monsters’ bodies.
―Pook!
―Kraaaah!
The monsters’ screams filled the shoreline.
The Argentans turned to look at me in surprise.
“Water?”
“This is….”
In a place occupied only by Argentans who wield fire, my ability was impossible to miss.
“……Even though you’re not the head, you possess this kind of power?”
“How strong must Duke Aloge have been to possess such power?”
They were in shock.
And in an instant, the tide of battle flipped on the beach.
―Chwaaaah!
At that moment, a massive wave carrying undeniable force surged toward the shore.
Even though it was obscured by the wave, it seemed possible to see what lay beyond it.
Perhaps it was because they had already seen “water-controlling monsters” in the original story, or because the monsters were on the water—but clearly, I could see the monsters’ locations.
There was no need to leave such a clearly visible enemy alone.
―Paaah!
When I clenched my fist tightly, the water, which had been infused with magic and menacingly rushing at me, scattered back into the surrounding sea.
―Kieeeek!
Revealing themselves, the monsters screamed in shock.
One monster, holding a crude staff that marked it as a magic user, thrashed its short legs wildly in midair.
Beneath it was the massive water spear I had created.
“……!”
But the spear did not pierce the monster’s body.
Perhaps it was because the monster controlled water, or maybe it was desperately defending against the spear.
Then all I had to do was give it more power—that was my thought.
“Croa.”
A low voice echoed beside me—Dielo.
“Dielo?”
When I turned to him,
―Flarrrk!
Flames ignited in midair.
In an instant, the fire took the shape of a massive spear and appeared in Dielo’s hand.
Naturally, the fire under his control did not harm a single strand of his hair.
“!”
With his arm drawn back, Dielo hurled the spear.
―Swooosh!
It cut through the air with a sharp sound, as if drawing the surrounding atmosphere, and struck the monster’s head.
―Kwah-kwang!
The water around it evaporated instantly, shrouding the area in mist—such was the overwhelming firepower.
“……!”
I widened my eyes.
Firepower that could incinerate a monster soaking in water without leaving a trace.
And this was the power of an unawakened head of the house?
I knew Dielo’s power was strong, but I hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.
“The water-controlling monster is dead! Clear the battlefield!”
“Waaah!”
Seizing the opportunity, Ledius Argenta bowed to us and ran out with his knights.
Among the charging knights, Dielo and I made eye contact.
“How…?”
He must have been asking how I came.
What he requested were only a few people to expedite the post-battle cleanup, and his message made no mention of the battlefield being dangerous.
But I couldn’t tell him that I had come knowing about the crisis.
I smiled lightly.
Maybe because I was near water, my smile became more confident.
“I was worried. My accomplice can’t get hurt, after all.”
I winked and pointed to the sea.
“Besides, this is the sea. I thought I could help.”
…And because with your personality, you probably wouldn’t fight properly.
No matter how strong your power, being able to take lives is another matter entirely.
In the original story, he still fought, but seeing him now, he seemed distant from combat.
He didn’t seem like someone who would recklessly use his abilities in a battlefield filled with death.
“……Thank you, Croa.”
He smiled faintly. The same smile I had seen countless times.
Yet, there was a strange sense of distance in that smile.
The figure who hurled the fire spear earlier was far removed from the Dielo Argenta I had known.
His eyes, shimmering with a shallow blue like the water on the shallow shoreline, were filled with unmistakable killing intent.
For a moment, I saw it clearly.
And the fire spear he threw pierced the opponent’s neck precisely.
It was thrust accurately and mercilessly into a position that would result in instant death.
“I’m glad I could help.”
I smiled at him.
And I thought:
Dielo Argenta, head of the house who wields sword and fire, might…
…be completely different from the man who smiles gently in bed.
The battlefield was quickly cleaned up.
It was already a huge reduction in damage that Ledius had not gone berserk.
Moreover, most of the Argentans guarding the site survived.
If Croa’s support had been delayed even slightly, it would have been impossible.
“Isn’t it said the youngest Aloge daughter isn’t very skilled with water?”
“Watch your words. She’s now my lady.”
“Anyway…”
The knights on the battlefield were amazed by her control over water.
At this rate, it might spread to other houses that, contrary to rumors, she possessed strong water control abilities.
―Hihihing…!
“…….”
Dielo looked at Croa Aloge, sleeping in his arms.
After the battle, she had lost strength rapidly and could not hold herself upright.
‘Here, ride.’
It was Dielo who suggested that she get on his horse.
“…….”
On the swaying horse, Croa rested against his chest, trapped in his arms.
A strange scent filled his mind—it was the scent of the sea, the water, something he had always hated intensely.
But today, he found it tolerable.
No, it even felt sweet, like water quenching a parched throat.
Despite being an Argenta who naturally despised rain, it was so.
“Rick.”
At his call, Rick emerged from among the people, bowing his head.
“Yes.”
As the head of Argenta’s intelligence, Rick knew Dielo well and was not surprised even by the momentary coldness in his demeanor.
“Make sure Croa’s ability doesn’t leak outside this battlefield.”
It meant eliminating any spies from other houses that had been left for appearances.
He would also warn the other Argenta knights to watch their tongues.
“Understood.”
Rick nodded lightly and turned.
As Argenta’s intelligence chief and “executor,” he would carry out every command without fail.
“Croa Aloge……”
No—Croa.
After finishing the cleanup, Dielo whispered her name.
According to the battlefield doctors, she had fallen asleep due to extreme fatigue, and even when her name was called, she did not respond.
It meant her consciousness was deeply asleep.
‘Dielo!’
The sparkling blue light that had parted the sea of death suddenly came to mind.
The magical field Croa created in her hands bound the sea of death.
No one had died where her hand touched.
Today, he didn’t have to take Argenta’s sacrifices lightly.
He didn’t have to pretend death was trivial.
“Are we going back to the mansion like this?”
At that moment, Ledius Argenta approached and asked. Dielo nodded shortly.
She had saved her master.
“That was truly amazing.”
He praised Croa’s ability generously.
For the Argentans, water meant death.
Seeing her dominate it was enough to inspire awe.
Moreover, she had used the full extent of her abilities.
She had thrown herself into the battlefield without thought for her own safety.
…For Argenta.
Thanks to her, he didn’t have to hold back tears today.
Dielo exhaled sharply.
‘……There is no one left to protect you, Dielo. You must be self-reliant. Trust no one. Even doubt me.’
Words he heard as a child—from Ledius Argenta.
That was the day Dielo’s parents died.
He cried for the last time that day.
When he realized that corpses would constantly pile up beneath him and ashes scatter, his childhood ended.
From that day on, he had to follow his uncle’s words desperately.
‘Do not give your heart to any one person.’
Weaker than the head of the house would die on the battlefield first.
If he reacted to each death, he could not survive.
That was why he tried to grow cold.
So that no death would shake him.
So that no one would receive special affection from him.
“…….”
―But what if it’s someone not weaker than me?
Someone who isn’t afraid even of a sea of death?
‘Dielo!’
Were the souls of dead Argentans rising faintly? The sea always looked murky to him.
But the figure of Croa shouting in the center of it shone more brilliantly than anything else.
Her light-purple hair, glistening with water, her confident purple eyes staring unwaveringly ahead.
She shone in the middle of the sea of death.
So brilliant and extraordinary,
He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
